Tea Extract Coated Glove

ABSTRACT

A protective glove that includes an exterior protective shell and an interior polymer coating of natural anti-septic extract, possibly containing tea extract. The exterior shell can be a elastic rubbery material, such as natural rubber latex, synthetic rubber, polyvinyl chloride, vinyl, or synthetic nitrile rubber. The interior coating can be formed by dipping the glove in an aqueous solution of tea extract and polymer solution, such as silicone emulsion. The tea extract can be between 0.1-10% or 0.5-5%. A method of making the protective glove can involve forming the glove, dipping the glove in a solution of natural anti-septic extract and polymer, and then drying the glove.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/223,906, filed Jul. 8, 2009, entitled “Tea Extract Coated Glove,” which application is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to hand protection products, and specifically relates to gloves with tea extract coated on the inner surface to protect and soothe the hands during and after application of gloves, and methods of making such gloves.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Gloves are widely used as a protective barrier to insulate hands from the objects handled by the wearer of gloves. Gloves are generally made of thin and elastic material that is impermeable to water. To provide tactile feedback and allow ease in handling objects, the space between the skin and the glove is usually minimal. Due to poor air circulation resulting from tight insulation, hand sweating is a common problem among glove wearers. Prolonged wearing of gloves causes a moist environment on the surface of the hand that causes irritation to the skin. Itchiness is a frequent result of wearing disposable examination gloves for extended periods.

The warm and moist environment within the glove provides a fertile ground for bacteria growth. This aggravates the discomfort and irritation causes by prolonged wearing of gloves.

Powders are traditionally used on the inner surface of gloves to alleviate sweating and to make donning, wearing and removal of gloves easier. Talcum powder and modified starch are common powders used. However, some powders, such as talcum, are irritants to some wearers. Prolonged continuous wearing and the resulting sweating can easily overwhelm the thin layer of powder that is attached to the surface of the glove. For medical practitioners and other professionals that require prolonged wearing of gloves, this can cause significant discomfort. In addition, hand washing is necessary after the use of powdered gloves. Frequent hand washing to remove powders may also cause excess dryness of the skin.

Attempts have been made to prevent adverse side effects caused by extensive use of gloves. Various products contain lotions. Other products may incorporate a coating of Aloe Vera on the interior wearing surface of the gloves. None of the existing products provides naturally antiseptic coating that also sooths and prevents skin irritation.

There is therefore a need for gloves that is coated with a layer of naturally antiseptic coating that also sooths and prevents skin irritation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be better understood with reference to the following description taken in combination with the drawings. For the purpose of illustration, there are shown in the drawings certain embodiments of the present invention. In the drawings, like numerals indicate like elements throughout. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements, dimensions, and instruments shown. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a glove constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the lines 2-2 of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a glove having an exterior shell and an interior even coating of a naturally antiseptic substance. The exterior shell is generally made of elastic rubbery materials, for example natural rubber latex, synthetic rubber, polyvinyl chloride, vinyl, and synthetic nitrile rubber. The interior coating is preferably made of a coating of tea extract and polymer solution. The glove retains the features of a regular glove, which is simple and convenient to use and allows the wearer to handle fine tasks with precision.

FIG. 1 illustrates a glove made according to the present invention. FIG. 2 illustrates the cross sectional view of the glove shown in FIG. where an exterior shell 20 and an interior coating 30 is demonstrated.

Tea extract is a natural plant extract that has a long history of usage. Tea extract is known to have anti-bacterial, anti-oxidation, deodorization, and astringent activities. Tea extract is a popular ingredient in cosmetic and skin-care products. Tea extract is soluble in water and contains non-detectable oil content. Extract from a variety of tea can be used with this invention, which includes, but not limited to, white, black, and green tea.

Tea extract coated glove retains the characteristic of a glove without any visible modification, and is easy and convenient to use. The tea extract is immobilized on the interior surface of gloves by using a polymer solution. The warm environment created within the glove when worn releases water soluble tea extract on to the skin, which provides the benefits of preventing irritation of the skin, antioxidant, deodorization, astringency, and natural antibacterial activity. It is shown that the prophylactic application of tea extract can retard growth of microorganisms and flora (anti-septic, antimicrobial activity) inside gloves which may result as sweating during wearing.

In one preferred embodiment, tea extract solution mixed with a polymer solution is used to coat the gloves. The tea extract is generally between 0.1-10%, preferably between 0.5-5%. Tea extract is evenly and uniformly distributed on the inner surface of the. In this particular example, a silicone emulsion solution is used as the polymer solution.

The method of manufacturing gloves involves dipping the gloves into an tea extract and polymer solution and drying the gloves so that the polymer solution polymerizes and the tea extract is immobilized on the surface of the glove. The gloves are then flipped so that the tea extract coated surface is facing the inside.

The following procedure describes manufacturing of one embodiment of the present invention, which is used as latex examination gloves.

During the manufacturing of latex gloves, anti-tack agent (donning powder) is introduced. There are two stages where anti-tack agent is generally introduced during the manufacturing of latex examination gloves.

The first step is Coagulant Dispersion Dip. During the manufacturing process, the formers are dipped into a coagulation bath. The purpose of this step is that to coat layer of coagulant solution on the formers so that the latex will be deposited on the formers. The content of powder in the coagulant dispersion dip is ranging between 2.0 to 2.5%. The anti-tack agent used in this particular example is calcium carbonate USP grade. The powder acts as an anti-tack agent so that the stripping of gloves out from its formers will be easier and the gloves will not stick to other gloves after stripping.

Another step where powder is used is Slurry Dispersion Dip. The purpose of this step is to coat a layer of donning powder of the latex film which has been deposited on the formers. The donning powder also acts as an anti-tack agent so that the stripping of the gloves out from its formers will be easier. The donning powder may also be used to facilitate donning of gloves. Donning powder used is in this dip modified corn starch USP grade at 3.0 to 4.0%.

The added powder then removed from the gloves. The added powder is removed from the gloves in two stages.

First stage is a Dry Tumbling Process. After the stripping of gloves out from its formers, the gloves are tumbled in a tumbler machine for 45 minutes which comprise of hot and cold tumblings. For hot tumbling stage, hot air is sucked through the tumbling drum for 10 minutes at temperature of 75 to 80 degrees C. Once the time of hot tumbling is completed, the heating element will be switched off automatically and cold air will be sucked through the tumbling drum for another 35 minutes. The cold tumbling will allow the gloves' temperature to go down to room temperature. During this process any excessive powder which has been applied during the dipping process will be removed from the gloves via vacuum tumbling system.

The second stage is a Gloves Washing Process. There are two process stages whereby the powder applied during the dipping process is removed. The gloves are washed through a first and second Pre-wash. For the first pre-wash, specified quantity of gloves are placed in a stainless steel washer and certain amount of warm clean water is pumped into the washer. The gloves are tumble washed for 15 minutes with clean warm water (38 to 40 degrees C.). This is to remove powder from the gloves which is applied during the dipping process. Once the first pre-wash stage is completed, the water is then drained out from the washer.

Upon completion of draining water of first pre-wash, another cycle of washing (second pre-wash) is carried out. Same as the first pre-wash stage, the gloves are tumbled in the same stainless steel washer to further remove the applied powder during the dipping process. The gloves are washed with clean water for 15 minutes with clean water at room temperature. Once the cycle is completed, the water is drained out from the washer and the gloves are removed from the washer and the gloves are ready for polymer coating process.

Once the second pre-wash state is completed, the gloves are transferred to a different washer for polymer coating. A polymer solution is pumped into the washer. The polymer solution comprises of silicone emulsion and tea extract (this is to polymerized tea exact solution) and water is as the media. The gloves are tumbled for 30 minutes to ensure that the polymer solution is evenly coated on the gloves. Once the polymer coating process stage is completed, the polymer solution is drained out from the washer and the gloves are removed from the washer. The gloves are then dried in a special cyclone tumbler dryer.

The gloves are preferably first treated with a chlorine solution or chlorine gas. Chlorine solution can help to sterilize the gloves, to wash off powders, and most importantly for natural latex gloves, to dissolve residual proteins that could potentially trigger severe allergic reactions among repeat users. After the outside surface of the glove is treated with the chlorine solution, it is turned inside out, and the glove is again treated with the chlorine solution. The residue chlorine is neutralized by using ammonia and the gloves are then dried.

Table 1 summarizes exemplary conditions used for the washing and coating of the gloves.

TABLE 1 Process Conditions Quantity Washing Tumble Temperature (Water) Stage Ingredients (min) (C.) (kg) a. Hot Water Tap Water 15 38-40 100 b. Cold Water Tap Water 15 Room Temp. 1000 c. Polymer Tea extract and 30 +/− 1 Room Temp. 1200 Coating Silicone Emulsion

In this example, 1-5% Green Tea Solution with Silicone Emulsion is used at the washing and Polymer Coating step. Alternatively, tea extract and polymer solution can be sprayed onto the surface of the gloves, instead of the gloves can be immersed into the tea extract solution. The latter method is preferred because it creates a complete and even distribution of the tea extract solution.

These and other advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing specification. Accordingly, it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that changes or modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the broad inventive concepts of the invention. Specific dimensions of any particular embodiment are described for illustration purposes only. It should therefore be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described herein, but is intended to include all changes and modifications that are within the scope and spirit of the invention. 

1. A protective glove, comprising: an exterior protective shell; and an interior polymer coating, wherein the interior coating comprises a natural anti-septic extract.
 2. The protective glove of claim 1, wherein the exterior shell is made from a elastic rubbery material.
 3. The protective glove of claim 2, wherein the exterior shell is made from materials selected from the group consisting of natural rubber latex, synthetic rubber, polyvinyl chloride, vinyl, and synthetic nitrile rubber.
 4. The protective glove of claim 1, wherein the interior coating contains tea extract.
 5. The protective glove of claim 2, wherein the interior coating is formed by dipping the glove in an aqueous solution of tea extract and polymer solution.
 6. The protective glove of claim 5, wherein the polymer solution is silicone emulsion.
 7. The protective glove of claim 5, wherein the tea extract is between 0.1-10%.
 8. The protective glove of claim 7, wherein the tea extract is between 0.5-5%.
 9. A method of manufacturing a glove having an interior coating comprises a natural anti-septic extract, comprising the steps of: forming a glove; dipping the glove in a solution of natural anti-septic extract and polymer; and drying the glove.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the natural anti-septic extract is tea extract.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the tea extract is between 0.1-10%.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the tea extract is between 0.5-5%.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein polymer is silicone emulsion. 